An optical device includes a first fiber; a liquid crystal member configured to have liquid crystal pixels that reflect light output from the first fiber; a second fiber configured to have a core to which a first order light ray in the light reflected by the liquid crystal member is optically connected; a light receiving circuit configured to receive higher order light rays in the light reflected by the liquid crystal member; and a control circuit configured to control based on a light receiving result of the light receiving circuit, efficiency of optical connection of the first order light ray to the core of the second fiber, by varying an angle of the light reflected by the liquid crystal member.
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1. An optical device comprising: a first fiber that is a multicore fiber configured to have a plurality of cores from which signal lights are output, respectively; a liquid crystal member configured to have a reflection surface with liquid crystal pixels that reflect light, wherein the liquid crystal member reflects the signal lights output from the first fiber at different areas of the reflection surface, respectively; a second fiber that is a multicore fiber configured to have a plurality of cores to which first order light rays in the reflected lights are optically connected, respectively; a plurality of light receiving circuits configured to receive higher order light rays in the reflected lights, respectively; and a control circuit configured to control based on a light receiving result of the light receiving circuits, efficiency of optical connection of the first order light rays to the cores of the second fiber, by varying for each area an angle of the reflected light.
The optical device has a multicore first fiber that outputs signal lights from its multiple cores. A liquid crystal component reflects these signal lights at different areas of its surface, which is made of liquid crystal pixels. A multicore second fiber receives the reflected lights; specifically, it's configured so its cores are optically connected to the "first order light rays" (presumably the primary, intended reflection). Multiple light receiving circuits measure the higher order light rays of the reflected lights. A control circuit analyzes the light receiving circuit results and adjusts the angle of the reflected light for each area via the liquid crystal, optimizing how efficiently the first order light rays connect to the second fiber's cores.
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June 8, 2016
May 9, 2017
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